This disclosure relates to transfer assist apparatuses, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to transfer assist apparatuses that can be adapted to pivot an upper frame of a person support apparatus laterally (side to side) in order to reduce the amount of force required to transfer a person supported on the patient support apparatus to another support apparatus.
It is often necessary for caregivers to transfer people/patients from one support apparatus to another, and/or assist with patient egress from the support apparatus. In order to transfer the person, caregivers can be required to physically pull or lift a portion of the person or a material under the person. Often times only a single caregiver transfers the person, which requires the caregiver to exert the total amount of force needed to transfer the person and can increase the risk of injury to the caregiver and person. Over time the strain of transferring people in this manner can lead to caregivers suffering back injuries. While various transfer assist apparatuses have been developed, in certain applications there is still room for improvement. Thus, a need persists for further contributions in this area of technology.